


Making friends and being awkward and stuff...

by Floofy



Category: Borderlands, Borderlands the pre-sequel, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Fluff, Homophobic Language, Kissing, M/M, puking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-10
Updated: 2015-08-10
Packaged: 2018-04-13 23:05:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4540848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Floofy/pseuds/Floofy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Timothy's finally been released from being (what it feels like) imprisoned in his hospital room and has been told by his CEO look-alike to<br/>'Enjoy the sights kiddo! Scare a few people now that you’ve got my handsome face plastered on yah.' or something like that...</p>
<p>He doesn't expect his first day on the job to include making friend with Hyperion's cutest couple, swear at some random people for dissing said friends/couple and then puke his guts out all with in the same hour and day but it's an interesting start if he doesn't say so himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Making friends and being awkward and stuff...

**Author's Note:**

> Something I wrote aaaaaages ago before I'd seen any fics where Tim meets Rhys or any of the gang. I've been writing this and tweaking it so much since I first wrote it over time and I kinda made it up as I went along as well because I mainly just wanted to write gayperion with Tim being a bit of a fanboy over them with no real plot idea in mind so I feel kind of....eh about this but it's the second thing I've written and actually finished and I'm bored staring at it in my drive being finished and not uploading it like I first wanted to so here it is I guesssss...
> 
> Enjoy?

Timothy was finally free from his imprisonment at Elpis’ main hospital. It had felt like months since he’d been able to walk through the halls of Helios and just look at something other than the four walls of his hospital room and he was so glad he could just escape for a little while before Jack called him up or he was required for more prodding and pushing from the doctors. He doesn’t realize he’s already wandered half way across the station and is in some random department's food hall already so he asks himself ‘why not’ and makes his way over to collect himself a baggie of food items on the side.

The bland paper bag has a few food items in it that he’s sure he’s not going to be able to digest because any thought of food just sets his stomach off and his gag reflex sets in. After having been served hospital food for so long, despite it being Helios and him basically the second most important person on it after basically becoming Handsome Jack himself (or a close second being his body double), he’d have expected better food than...whatever the hell he’d been served but of course it wouldn’t have been a realistic hospital visit if he wasn’t served shitty food to go alongside his shitty mood. He shouldn’t have thought he’d be treated any different in the first place. Typical really.

Tim knows he won’t be able to eat anything for a while so the bag sits on the table, he just stares at it for a while wondering why he even picked it up in the first place and decides to pout at it. Gosh, becoming Jack had been so stressful and time consuming. He only hoped at the end of it all he got what he was owed and he could get his original face back. He already missed his freckles.

He decided the bag wasn’t going to do anything if he just stared at it so he pushed it to the side slightly and sighed, deciding looking around the food hall would be more entertaining of a time then whatever his food bag could offer him, which currently was nothing. His now blue and green eyes scanned the hall. It wasn’t too large a room but it was big enough to hold a few hundred or less people in it. Currently not too many people were in here, obviously still at work and those here currently on their break. Tim currently was only here because he didn’t know where else he could or should be, having had no instructions or guidelines on what he could or could not do during his free time. That and getting lost had ended putting him here, he could use his map but couldn’t be asked at the moment; he just wanted to wander away from all his troubles.

“Enjoy the sights kiddo! Scare a few people now that you’ve got my handsome face plastered on yah. It’ll do you good t’ get some practice in and hopefully let people know what we’re capable of ‘round here.”

Those were the words Jack had left him with before pushing him out the door to let him talk to his doctors about whatever. Jack literally told him to be HIM, to be Handsome Jack right off the bat; who was actually someone he knew nothing about. He literally had not been taught how or what kind of person Jack was and what he would do yet but the man himself expected him to do it anyway because...reasons as far as Timothy could understand. Literally, there were none at the moment. Jack seriously just wanted him to scare some poor people senseless and Timothy didn’t think he could do that yet unless he was pushed to it. It was literally his first day on the job after surgery for Christ sake.

Jack didn’t know he was still himself under all this surgery and clothing, nobody seemed to treat him how he was and that frustrated him but Tim had to grin, or grimace in this case, and bare it until he got used to it. It was his job now anyway.

Tim sighed again to himself and remembered ‘This is not how Jack would act’. He forced himself to sit upright and looked dignified. ‘This is not where Jack would be’. Timothy looked around at the hall. He would definitely not sit with people of such lower working class. ‘This is not what Jack would approve of.’ He sighed to himself. “This is not what I wanted”. He finally whispered to himself, letting his shoulders slump and his pout to return. ‘Fuck it,’ Tim thought, no one was looking at him right now expecting him to act like the man he was hired to be so currently he could just be himself and mope about crappy food and his crappy life and the crappy- oh wait someone was looking at him- shit.

Tim blinked when his eyes finally settled on the one man in the hall looking at him a few tables away. From what Tim could see he wore a white dress shirt and black pants with a long thin red tie tucked into those pants. His hair was neatly pushed back and out of the way of his face and interestingly he had two different colored eyes just like Tim now did now. How strange. Not many people he knew had heterochromia. Well, he didn’t have it naturally since birth is what he’s saying to himself but he knows what he means so he doesn’t even know what he’s getting at here.

He waved slightly at the staring man and gave him a small smile and that seemed to knock him out of his trance because he suddenly became very red and looked away quickly as he was noticed staring, obviously not noticing himself that he was as staring either, it seemed. Tim quirked an eyebrow at the stranger and watched as he not so subtly watched Tim in return from out the corner of his eyes, probably thinking; ‘Handsome Jack is watching me oh boy quick act natural’ but Tim wasn’t Handsome Jack and he forgot he had the man’s face for just a second so he wondered what got the man so flustered before realization hit and he smiled slightly to himself despite the situation.

Now Tim was intrigued. He wasn’t seriously a fan of the man himself. Yes he knew he took the job to act as the guys body double and literally be this man but in all seriousness, Tim didn’t like Jack’s face. But the man across from him did so he was curious if it was just underling appreciation or if that look in his eyes was actually terror. He knew of the fear Jack instilled into many of his workers hearts and he knew how many people pissed themselves just having to talk to the guy so he was honestly curious as to why this guy kept staring.

He sat up a little straighter, understanding he wasn’t doing a very good job trying to be his boss and raised an eyebrow to the stranger on the other table. He didn’t know if Jack would even be interested in stranger like this or if he’d just blast them out of an airlock for staring but that was his job now to act like the man and do it on the spot for the next however many years so he had to start somewhere and now was a best a place as any... at this random table, in this low status hall, with a complete stranger, after having been a pouty baby for the first ten minutes he came in here. God he was such a bad actor.

Tim was now the strangers main focus as well as he turned his head in his direction and raised his eyebrow. His face was still red but it has determination written all over it. Determination for what Tim has no idea of but it looks like a challenge so he faces him by sticking his chin up slightly and staring the man down with half lidded eyes deciding a slight smirk is also something Jack would probably throw in at a time like this, he’s nervous but he needs this kind of practice so he takes it in his stride and does his best sneering Jack impersonation he can muster from staring at the guys face for so long that it almost hurts by the time the man across him reacts. 

It’s a slow reaction at first but his sneer works and the man drops his brow, drops his whole face and becomes white like a sheet and ‘holy shit it worked’ Tim thinks to himself because now the man doesn’t know what to do or say as he probably thinks he just challenged The Handsome Jack to a stare off and not some bad body double of the guy and Timothy has to laugh at that because holy shit he actually did something cool for once but by then the jig is up and the stranger with the nice hair becomes flustered and confused because ‘Why did Handsome Jack just laugh at me? Is there something on my face? Did I make myself look like a fool? WHAT?’

Tim’s laugh is small at first but then it becomes loud and undignified and nothing like Handsome Jack’s evil chuckle so in the end he stops trying to sit straight and falls back into his seat with shoulders slumped and face red from laughter and oh god he’s such a bad actor he really needs to fix that.

The stranger becomes annoyed by this point as most likely he’s 100% confused to who this guy across him is as it’s obviously not the Handsome Jack everyone knows and hates so he picks up his food and storms over to where Tim is sitting. Timothy doesn’t notice at first since he’s wiping tears from his eyes, it still feels weird to feel Jack’s face and not his own under his fingertips, but then he’s finished crying and the guys across from him at the table with a slightly miffed expression and confusion stirring in his eyes.

“Who are you?” The man demands as soon as Tim’s done wiping his face. 

His shoulders are locked and all kind of emotion is drained from his face to make sure he looks as serious as possible and Tim has to do a double take because that is not the kind of voice he expected to hear from such a...um, pretty bloke? Gosh, Tim thinks, he’s so weird. And probably bi. He needs to figure himself out already.

Timothy calms himself down enough to think about his response. He obviously can’t just run with “‘I’m handsome Jack, who else?” since he’s already blown his cover so his answer is quick and truthful.

“I’m Timothy Lawrence.”

He gets an eyebrow lift in response but he kind of expected that so he decides to elaborate before the man starts asking questions. He isn’t really supposed to give out his name since as far as anyone knows he’s dead but whatever it’s his name and he can tell whoever he wants.

“I’m uh, I’m Handsome Jack’s body double...in training.” ‘Ish’ he adds at the end, waving his hand in a little see-saw motion showing that he knows he’s not really the best at this. At all. He shouldn’t really be telling people about his real identity but nobody’s told him anything yet about who or what or when or where or anything, basically nobody’s told him anything since he’s gotten here and he’s probably dead (again) already. His past life had being rewritten as if he was never born so why not tell someone his real personality who’s already figured out he’s not who he’s acting to be? He should try making friends and he knows nobody wants to be friends with Handsome Jack so honesty is his fail safe here.

Pretty bloke, gosh he’s not going to call him that, stranger lets out a relieved sigh to Tim’s surprise and the straight backed posture is gone, replaced with him laying back into his chair and letting out a nervous chuckle. Tim was not going to think about how nice it sounded. Nope. Tim stop you’re thinking about it. Stop it.

“Oh okay good, I thought you were some weird impersonator or uh...something. Honestly I didn’t know who you were but wait- a body double? When did Jack order in a body double?” The strangers response is quick and easily spoken but Tim understands his sudden confusion because not many people knew he was around anyway, he’d literally only been released from his captivity at the hospital wing for christ sake.

“Mmm yeah.” Tim responded, twisting his thumbs together under the table. “I’ve uh, been here longer than most people think...or know. Kinda comes in the job description to be out of the way until my face is ready to impress. Or strike fear as far as Jack wants- I really don’t know man.”  
Tim felt like he could be open about this, this guy may have been a complete stranger but he looked like he was easy enough to trust; not being a pussy meeting someone who looked like their boss and not being a dick about it because ‘lol who’d want to be like Jack anyway?’ About everyone to be honest Timothy thought to himself.

The man nodded and decided to stay where he was, getting comfortable in his new seat across from the Jack look alike as he reopened the bag he had, the similar crappy brown to Tim’s, and pulled out the sandwich inside.

“That's understandable. I can understand not many people knowing but I’d have thought there might at least be rumors or something knowing Hyperion...” He sniffed his sandwich and made a disgusted face.

Timothy looked down at his own bag that was pushed to the side but the feeling of queasiness still lingered so he decided against opening it and seeing what crap they expected him to digest. He was sure the food on Helios station in the right places wasn’t that bad, probably edible even but anything anywhere that was in a poop brown bag like this screamed ‘crap’.

“So uh, why the whole...stare off we just had there?” The man asked after taking a tentative bite out of his food and pointing between the two of them and the table he was recently sitting at. He didn’t look pleased with his bite of food and Tim smirked at him before shrugging.

“I look like Jack. Sooner or later I’m gonna have to act like him, unfortunately. Sorry about all that I was just trying to practice acting like an ass to someone for once.” Tim continues to answer truthfully, no point trying to lie now and besides there’s nothing he could really lie about anyway. He smiles as the man nods at him and Tim finds that he’s beginning to like this guy, now all he needs is a name to put to that pretty face. Gosh dammit Tim stop that. You can’t even speak to normal women don’t make this awkward too.

“So...you know... my... name,” Tim starts out slow, looking to the side awkwardly. The man looks up still chewing on his first bite. “Whats yours?” Tim finishes returning his eyes back to look at the man in front of him.

He swallows the sandwich bite and places what he’s got in his hand to his right, letting Tim notice for the first time his right hand is actually cybernetic and what the fuck if that isn’t the coolest thing Tim’s seen since he came here he doesn't know what because it moves and reacts just like a normal hand would. Now his left hand is free he extends it to Tim as a handshake and Tim takes it in his own left shaking it lightly once and finally getting out of him “It’s Rhys.”  
Timothy smiles and tests it out on his tongue.

“Reece?” He says at first but Rhys shakes his head with a slight smile.

“No, no...Rhys.” Rhys says again, putting more emphasis on the ‘h’ and ‘y’ and not so much on the ‘s’.

“R h y s.” Tim tries for the second time and he gets a nod in response so he’s proud he says his name correctly and gives him a big dumb smile, all white teeth showing and eyes lighting up.

Rhys looks away with a slight blush and Timothy tries not to notice it because wow that could be kinda awkward to explain to Jack if he ever complimented that cute little blush and things got out of hand and there’s a big hickey on his neck and oh my gosh Timothy Lawrence you need to stop right there you’re digging a hole too deep what if he’s not even into that kind of thing?

Tim laughs to himself quietly at his awkward inner monologue and scratches at the base of his neck, trying to think of something to talk about before he becomes an awkward mess and the conversation turns into an awkward silence but Rhys saves him the time by starting up the next conversation, albeit probably by mistake.

“You’re really not like Jack at all.” Tim hears Rhys whisper to himself and he doesn’t want to ignore that because he know’s he’s really not so he brings it up into a conversation starter.

“I feel like that’s going to be my downfall.” He starts, poking at the side of his food bag idly to distract himself from looking at Rhys’ face as he knows the man is trying to push that blush away. “I feel like I’m not going to be able to be Jack when the time comes and he’s just gonna be pissed and throw me out and get a new guy.” Tim knows this sounds depressing but it’s the truth and things just seem to fall out of his mouth now that Rhys has got him going and he doesn’t know when he’s going to stop. He really shouldn’t be saying all of this but who cares, not like the guys gonna tell anyone all of this...right?

“There were so many better guys Jack could have picked from, yet out of all of them, he picked me. So many more eager, more qualified to be the Handsome Jack yet out of all of them, he picked insignificant ol’ me. I had a whiny voice, pretty crappy figure if we’re being honest here...” Tim looked up now and off to the side, he might as well let it all out, nobody else really wanted to listen to him monologue, Jack hadn’t really paid him any attention when he brought up all the other people who’d signed up for the job, not even his mother had wanted to know when he’d gotten a job, he’d had to keep what the job was a secret of course until they’d just basically killed him off and destroyed all his records, but she’d just seemed distant and blank looking at the time.

“I had a nice nose though.” He comments, subconsciously pulling a hand up and away from the bag to run it down his nose now made to look like Jack’s. He pulled a disgusted face however and pulled his hand away as if it stung. It almost felt like it did, touching something that he knew wasn’t his anymore. He was basically Jack’s now. He was made to look and act like Jack so he was Jack’s. It kind of hurt to know he’d probably never see his old face again.

“I had freckles too. Gosh I loved my freckles.” 

Tim finally looks back to Rhys and realizes he’s been monologuing and it sounded depressing as all hell. He gets embarrassed and a hand comes up to cover his eyes and forehead as he lets out a flustered chuckle.  
“Oh shit I’m sorry...don’t know what came over me. See what I mean?” He asks, peeking over the top of his right hand, his left now having stopped playing with the bag and now lying uselessly on his lap.

Rhys looks on at Tim with a slight wide eyed amazement, having leaned forward whilst Tim was talking and having placed his sandwich down on a napkin that seemed to have come from nowhere. Once Tim had stopped talking Rhys slowly eased back into his chair and blinked before shaking his head slightly to focus his eyes again on the man in front of him.

“Wow.” Is all he can say for a second as he processes everything Tim had just loaded onto him. He really wasn’t like Jack. Rhys felt sorry for him.

“If you hate everything you’re doing and have done then... why go through with it any longer?” He asked, picking up his sandwich and deciding to continue eating it even if it did taste like skag crap.

Timothy sighed before grimacing at the sandwich and shifting one foot over the other under the table. He felt so dumb having just spilled his guts out to a guy he didn’t really know but it made him feel better knowing he wasn’t going to be mocked or ridiculed for his opinions and thoughts by Rhys so he answered his question, albeit a little stiff since his monologue left him feeling awkward and too out of character considering the face he had on.

“Haven’t really got a choice now.” Was his short cut answer, it became a beet deeper with Jack’s voice modulator and it sounded threatening and fierce, nothing like Timothy had intended but he liked how it sounded to be honest. He didn’t completely hate Jack’s voice considering it was what he’d be hearing every time he spoke from now on. Only when Jack himself rattled on and on about everything is when it became irritating. It sounded better than Timothy’s real voice; weird and pubescent sounding, as if he’s only just started puberty even though he was in his mid 20’s.

Rhys had looked up suddenly from his food in concern but he relaxed somewhat when he knew Tim wasn’t going to break something or end up shooting lasers out of his eyes now at how deep the stare he was giving his paper bag was after his sudden change in tone.

“Whys that?” Rhys asked calmly.

Tim looked up and softened his gaze, not wanting to scare his table friend since he knew even if he wasn’t Jack himself a gaze from Jack’s particular set of eyes was always pretty threatening in like...every situation.

“I’m supposed to be Jack’s body double for the next ten years, but I know somethings gonna hit the shitter and I’ll either be dead or worse.”  
Rhys raised an eyebrow at this, having taken another bite from his sandwich again and chewed in thought.

“Worse?” He asked with a hint of sarcasm, not understanding Tim’s seriousness.

“Yeah,” Timothy shrugged. “I could be stuck with this forever.” He shrugged pointing to his face with his thumb before both hands returned to his lap. Looking down at them he sighed before continuing. “I’m just gonna have to get these years over with and hopefully get what I’m owed...and my face back. Who knows, knowing my luck I’ll be stuck with no cash and this blasted face till the end of time.”

Rhys nodded at that before shrugging.

“I guess you’re right. Jack’s handsome and all but he’s got enemies for sure.” Was his quick response before he took another bit of his sandwich into his mouth. It was half gone by now but he didn’t look like he’d been enjoying it since he’d come to sit with Timothy. There was no look like he was going to continue so Tim just simmered in silence until a sharp noise cut through the air.

The noise sounded slightly like a phone ring tone but it was more high pitched than any song or tune Tim knew of. Both men jumped at the noise but Rhys did so less than his buddy across the table and a smile quickly graced his face as he brought his right arm over the table in front of him. Sandwich quickly forgotten in favor for the beeping of his arm, Rhys somehow quickly pulled up a screen with which a man stood (or sat Tim couldn’t really tell from his angle looking at the holographic screen since the backing side was almost completely blank).

“Hey Rhys!” He man on the screen bellowed cheerily. 

The man sounded quite happy and it didn’t suit Tim’s mood at all; he having only just gotten himself depressed thinking about all the bad shit he was going to have to deal with for the next ten or so years. He tried to let the other man’s happiness rub off on him and it started to work as Rhys also become instantly cheerier at the man’s presence as well.

“Heya Vaughn, what’s up?” Rhys questioned.

Tim hadn’t noticed it before but now that he was using his cybernetics Timothy could see Rhys’ left eye glow and shift, also (now that he realized it) being cybernetic as well and holy hell that was just as cool as his arm. He quickly snapped out of the depressive mood and ducked down slightly to get a better look at the eye.

“Wait, man, what the heck your eye is cybernetic too? That's awesome!” He butted in, cutting off what Rhys was saying to his buddy Vaughn over the phone-like face-time communication they had going on.

Rhys smiled up at him at the interjection and heard Vaughn questioning him through the screen.

“Who’s that Rhys? He sounds...uh...kinda familiar…?”

Rhys looked back down at his screen projection and gave his friend a smile.

“Made a friend in the lunchroom, he uh, only just noticed my eye was cybernetic.” Rhys looks back up at Timothy’s amused expression at him calling him a friend once he’s done talking and decides to kick him under the table in a joking way to tell him off for interrupting him before giving him a smirk.

Tim looks confused at first and kicks him back. ‘Kinda rude to call me a friend and then kick me...’ He thinks before he see’s the face Rhys pulls and scoffs at him, kicking him again a lot harder this time. It’s hard enough that Rhys sways in his seat a bit and Vaughn’s voice can be heard coming out of the speaker again.

“Are you getting attacked down there or something? I can see you two y’know...wait are you kicking each other? God Rhys you’re such a child. I’ll have to come down and meet your new friend though!” Vaughn can be seen looking over to the side at something where he is and he moves a few things around on his desk. “Not usual you can find someone worthy enough to give a light kick and not lose all your teeth up here, huh?” He can be heard mumbling along with the sounds of paper being pushed out the way and a screen monitor being turned off.

“Hm? Wassat Vaughn?” Rhys had been distracted from Vaughn's ramblings after rubbing at his shins with his left hand after the kicks from Timothy under the table.

Timothy pulls his feet out of the way from Rhys and puts them under his seat after sitting up straight with a smirk on his face. As fun is it is to make friends with Rhys he doesn’t want to do it through various bruises to the legs. Maybe another time. His face instantly drops at that thought. ‘No Timothy stop that's bad.’

Vaughn can be heard sighing in amusement. A chair creaks as he gets up and makes his way out of his office. Timothy notices that his picture shakes with his movements and notes that his picture must be projected through something on his face, probably the glasses he has perched on his nose. His questions are answered when Vaughn fiddles with them on the bridge of his nose and the picture flickers as the glasses are prodded and it distorts the image being projected. Man Hyperion technology was cool.

“I said, I’m coming down to meet your new friend and have lunch with you too. I’ve finished for the day anyway, might as well join you two.” 

Rhys nods at his friend words and copies Tim’s posture; deciding to sit back in his chair and not chance another kick fight. Tim’s shoes had some killer ridges and heels to them that’s for sure.

“I also called you a child.” Vaughn decides to add in at the last second with a smirk.

Rhys fake’s a hurt expression with an open mouth and pulls his left hand up to hold over his heart.

“Vaughn! I can’t believe you’d say such a thing! And here I thought you loved me! Man, now I know I’m just a child in your eyes!” Rhys hides his smile behind his hand that was resting on his chest, now covering his mouth and his chuckle.

“I do love you, Idiot.” Vaughn whispers under his breath, almost inaudible since he’s decided to take that moment to adjust his glasses again and rub his nose with the back of his hand.

Rhys smiles at his friend awkwardness and tells him “Good because I love you too, glad my childishness doesn’t make me any less lovable.”

Timothy takes a moment to process what the two friend have said to each other and if they really mean it seriously or not. He raises an eyebrow at Rhys and feels a slight blush forming on his cheeks. If they ARE a couple then he needs to stop thinking dirty thoughts about Rhys whose only sitting across from him at the table RIGHT NOW or it could get very awkward and he doesn’t want to butt in if these two have a good thing going on.

Rhys looks up at Timothy’s questioning brow and notices the small blush forming on his cheeks, understanding immediately what he’s asking through his facial expressions. He nods at him quickly before looking back to his phone call with his boyfriend and noticing Vaughn’s now about to enter a lift, no doubt about to come down to the food hall they’re in and meet the guy he’s decided to befriend all of a sudden. He notices just to the side of his vision that Tim lets a small smile slip at the confirmation that him and Vaughn are an item and he can’t help but be happy his new friend doesn’t mind his choice in relationship.

“Do I get a name then from mister new face or is it a secret till I get down there, bro?” Rhys hears Vaughn ask quietly, snapping his attention back to him.

“Oh uh yeah, his name’s Timothy.” He responds without asking Tim if it’s alright if he gives Vaughn his name or not but he doesn’t really know if he should ask right now because once he looks up again he find’s Tim fanning his face and biting his lip to try and stop his smile from becoming too big on his face.

Once Tim gets the confirmation that Rhys and Vaughn are indeed together, he can feel his face becoming hot and his mouth threatening to split open into a big smile. He’s always been a sucker for cute couples and romance and this only makes him feel more regret on having thought those things earlier about Rhys when he’s already got someone to account for. He bites his lip harder once Rhys looks up again but stops fanning himself as he knows it probably looks really awkward and weird so he decides to stick his hands under his armpits to force them from making any other weird gestures until he calms down.

Now he can’t wait to meet Vaughn face to face oh gosh they better be as cute together as they are apart. He’s such a sucker for cute couples, especially if he knows Rhys is this attractive and nice, he bets Vaughn is as well.

Tim blanks his face once he realizes he’s a bit too giddy about these two and decides to fidget his legs into a more stretched out position under the table. He doesn’t mind when Rhys gives Vaughn his name, he just hopes Rhys doesn’t tell Vaughn what his job is. He hopes the man isn’t afraid of Jack as every other employee seems to be or if he hates him or something along those lines, it’d be sad if he makes friends with Rhys only to have his best friend and boyfriend dislike him.

He hears Vaughn make a hmm noise in confirmation as an elevator dings and the camera is jiggled some more.

“Well I’m almost at the food hall so I’ll see you and Timothy in a sec. Don’t break each others legs whilst in gone because I’m not carrying you both to the hospital for being immature 5 years olds.”

Both Rhys and Tim can hear the sarcasm in Vaughn’s voice and both reply “We won’t.” at the same time. Timothy jinx’s Rhys and gets an eye roll in return before Rhys’ right arm is finally lowered back onto the table to pick up his sandwich and the call with Vaughn is finished for now.

Deciding to shove what’s left of his sandwich into his mouth doesn’t look like a good idea to Timothy as he watches Rhys chew and almost choke it down but it’s gone finally and he makes a sighing sound as he’s finally finished. He pulls up his fist to cough and little and he punches at his chest to try and dislodge the weird feeling as it slides down his throat from swallowing too much at once before pointing in the general direction of Tim’s bag and offering him some advice.

“Don’t- don’t eat those s-sandwiches.” He chokes out between a few coughs, his flesh hand reaching into the bag to pull out the bottled water and uncapping it to swallow down half the bottle in one go before Tim can get even a word out.

He blinks at Rhys’ advice and laughs a little after he’s certain his friend isn’t going to need to be resuscitated.

“I wasn’t planning on it.” He adds, giving his paper bag a disapproving flick.

Rhys smiles at him and gives him a thumbs up before his attention is suddenly directed to the entrance-way to the food hall and a big grin spreads out across his face. He looks to Tim a second later and his face turns serious for that moment.

“Okay, Vaughn just walked in. I dunno how he’s gonna react at first since...you know you’ve got Jack’s face and all that but uhh, I don’t know. Great him however you want. He’s never really been a fan of Jack too much in the first place if I’m honest with you. It’s your choice how you meet and greet him, man.” 

Rhys shrugs and slings his cybernetic arm over the side of his chair as he watches his friend walk down the aisle to reach their table. A enthusiastic wave is directed his way and Timothy decides not to turn to see if Vaughn returned the wave or what he looks like yet because he wants Vaughn to notice him head on first and see his reaction to the new friend Rhys has made having the face of Handsome Jack; a guy Rhys has told him he kinda hates. He’s slightly giddy at the prospect of making his second new friend today so easily (or not) but he decides to stay calm and keep his face neutral to determine his greeting dependent on Vaughn's reaction.

Vaughn finally comes into view a few second later after Rhys’ wave and the first thing he does is place his own lunch bag on the table and bend down to give Rhys a kiss on the forehead. He holds Rhys’ head between his hands to lift him upwards a bit to accommodate for his height difference and Rhys giggles a little once he hears Vaughn whisper out near his hairline “You child.”

Once he’s done kissing his boyfriend, and Timothy doesn’t mind watching, he thinks it’s adorable and he can’t help the smile that creeps onto his face turning the corners of his mouth upwards, Vaughn finally turns around to look at who Rhys has befriended and Timothy isn’t surprised much at Vaughn's shocked face as he is at Vaughn's pleasing features. He has a nice goatee and a soft looking nerd parting to his hair, seeming to be the brains to Rhys’ looks but not being bad looking himself. His glasses are cool looking as well now that he has a better look at them, Timothy notices, most likely having the projection capabilities as he saw earlier from the phone call between him and Rhys, implemented along the left side bridge.

Vaughn forces himself to loosen his facial features but one of his thick eyebrows is still held up high on his forehead at Timothy’s facial structure and who he obviously looks like. He looks down to Rhys for an explanation as he’s obviously confused but he gets no answer from him so he’s forced to awkwardly greet himself to who he thinks is ‘Timothy’.

“Hi…” He starts out.

Timothy nods at him, surprisingly quite amused with Vaughn's confusion. “Hey.” He responds, voice dropping a few octaves, deep and obviously very Jack like. 

This confused Vaughn even more but he humors the conversation and sits down next to Rhys, scooting the chair a bit closer to his side and being basically arm to arm with him. ‘Dang they’re definitely a cute couple.’ Timothy thinks to himself, accidentally letting out a smirk which causes Vaughn to lower his eyebrow in annoyance having read the action wrong.

“Okay, so you’re Timothy, hu?” Vaughn asks, quite confused despite himself and the fact Rhys had said this man was his friend despite him looking and sounding exactly like their boss Handsome Jack who hasn’t even met him before let alone being a friend of his.

Tim nods at Vaughn’s question and holds out his right hand for a shake.

“Timothy Lawrence, Jack’s body double.” He decides to greet, waiting for Vaughn’s outstretched hand in return, giving him a reassuring smile to combat the awkward smirk he’d given him only moments before.

It finally clicks in Vaughn’s head what Timothy said and he lets out a few little ‘oh’s!’ with wide eyes before he’s chuckling for a few seconds and fidgeting with his glasses awkwardly.

“Oh okay, that makes a little more sense...occupation and uh explanation wise anyway. You two got me really confused for a second there…” He finally takes Tim’s hand for a shake, which he finds is actually quite light considering the face Tim is wearing, and smiles at him now noticing the way Timothy holds himself and that his expression is actually a lot lighter than what you’d usually see plastered on Handsome Jacks face. His eyes actually light up a bit at the acceptance, Vaughn notices and it makes him a bit unnerved to see such expressions come from Handsome Jack’s face since all he’s ever seen is the man in charge shouting in rage or sneering at someone or other.

Rhys wraps his cybernetic arm around Vaughn’s shoulder once the handshake is over and he hugs him into his shoulder to press a kiss against the side of his head to repay for the one Vaughn gave him earlier before resting back against his chair comfortably with his boyfriend next to him, laying into his side somewhat.

“Sorry about that,” Timothy says once Rhys and Vaughn are comfortable in their seats. “I didn’t really know how to introduce myself to be honest...I didn’t know if you’d be comfortable meeting a guy who looks and sounds just like Handsome Jack but...isn’t.” He looks off to the side awkwardly at his choice of words but looks back relieved when he hears Vaughn making small amused noises and waving his hand his way in dismissal.

“Nah man, as long as you’re not and asshole like him then I’m sure I can deal with looking at his face for longer than usual...or your face...or uh...you know what I mean right?” He gives Timothy an awkward guilty expression, not really knowing where he was going with that sentence but Tim nods at him with a reassuring smile.

“Nah it’s cool, I understand.” 

“Great.” Vaughn nods back before releasing himself from Rhys’ shoulder hug to dig into his bag he’d brought with him. This grabs to attention of Rhys who had been half listening half daydreaming off to the side who leans forward a tad to peek over his boyfriend’s shoulder and into the bag.

“Bro is that the baggie I made last night?” 

Vaughn pushes Rhys’ face out of the way in amusement with the palm of his hand so he can actually get to the food inside and replies with a laugh driven “Yes it is.”

Rhys makes a whining noise in the back of his throat that confuses Timothy but leaves Vaughn laughing again as he pulls the cleanly wrapped sandwich from its confines in the brown bag. The clingfilm around it comes off easily as Vaughn picks at it with his finger nails and lays it out on the table to act as a makeshift table cloth, not trusting the serviette Rhys had left in his space earlier since it had the weird sauce from the Hyperion issued sandwiches all over it. Vaughn made a disgusted face at this serviette and picked it up carefully from a corner, making sure to get none on his fingers, before letting it fall into Rhys’ long forgotten food bag slowly.

“Ew.” Looking down to his hand to make sure he got none on his fingers, Vaughn sighs happily when there is none and looks up find find Rhys to be looking down at him the whole time with his lower lip stuck out in a pout as he stares at the singular sandwich Vaughn had plucked from the bag.

“Oh I’m sorry, who's the one who forgot their lunch in a hurry this morning, hu? Wasn’t me, that's for damn sure,” He mocks smugly, bringing up the sandwich to his nose and smelling it teasingly with his eyes closed, just inches from Rhys’ mouth. “Mmm, smells good. Y’know, you can’t really cook for shit but you make the best sandwiches and ice cream sundaes known to man Rhys.” He looks back up to Rhys to find him nodding.

“I know.” He responds, sounding like someone had kicked his puppy. “S’why I made some lunch and stuff for us last night...uhhh you think you could share that maybe Vaughn? I-uh-hah... the-uh sandwiches here are total crap and it’d be nice to get rid of the taste with-”

Vaughn cuts him off by breaking the sandwich in two and looking over to Timothy, holding out half to him with a totally innocent look on his face. Timothy is shocked to have been included into the conversation so suddenly since he’d been happy enough to just sit in silence and watch the two be a happy little couple together without interfering but he looks between the sandwich piece offered to him and Rhys' face and can’t help but snort under his breath at the totally gobsmacked expression he’s adopted.

Tim takes the sandwich piece tentatively, not entirely sure if he should since he’s still not really that hungry, but knows he’s made the right choice when Rhys gives him a death glare and Vaughn is left in quiet laughing by his side, his body shaking as he tries to hold in his laughter and failing miserably. He takes a bite of the sandwich piece he has left but chokes on it when Rhys pulls him into his side by the arm still around his shoulder and half of his forearm connects with his throat. Rhys pretends not to notice he’s almost choking Vaughn and grumbles to himself, staring at the sandwich piece Timothy is holding too lightly in his right hand. He wiggles his eyebrows at Timothy, hoping their new friend gets the message and hands over the piece whilst Vaughn is coughing and preoccupied but Timothy decides against giving Rhys what he wants and takes a bite out of it to find out what all the fuss is about.

He chews slowly, watching Rhys become angrier before slumping back in his chair and removing his arm from Vaughn's neck to let him try coughing up his lungs more efficiently. Once he swallows Tim’s surprised to find out how good the sandwich actually is, it’s definitely one of the best he’s had in his life, even surpassing those his mother made him when they lived in simpler times and student loans weren’t threatening the family into debt. Wow, that was depressing to think about. He shook his head of the memory and shoved the rest of the sandwich into his mouth, ignoring the grumbles of his stomach in protest at being given food it didn’t want.

By now Vaughn’s finished dying and has returned to laughing at Rhys’ expense. He looks to Rhys who has by now stopped listening and watching and is now pouting off to the side. Vaughn feels bad now however and grabs Rhys' chin to open his mouth and without warning plops what’s left of his sandwich into Rhys’ jaw before he can protest and jabs his mouth shut.

“There,” He starts. “Don’t say I never did anything for you.”

Rhys stares forward confused for a few seconds before he registers there’s food in his mouth and chews and swallows the little piece of sandwich he was given. It’s damn good if he doesn’t say so himself.

Vaughn rolls his eyes under his glasses and looks to Timothy to start a conversation.

“So, how’d you two find each other then?” He decides to ask. He’s betting it isn’t everyday you find someone who looks identical to The Handsome Jack in a low class food hall just casually sitting around.

Rhys scoots up in his chair, no longer in a grumpy mood and returns his cybernetic arm around Vaughn’s shoulders from where it was laying before.

“Well uh, I dunno, Tim was just sitting there and uhhh…” Rhys shrugs, not really knowing how to continue, that was literally it to be honest. Timothy had been sitting there, they stared at each other a little bit and then Rhys came over with a ‘what the fuck are you looking at?’ attitude.

Timothy shrugged as well.

“He just came over wondering why Handsome Jack was sitting at a lunch table staring at him to be honest…”  
Vaughn looked between the two of them not buying it. He gave them puzzled looks and when they made no moves to try and explain further he scoffed and crossed his arms.

“That’s it? Wow, you two get together better than the main characters to some crappy love story, jeez…”

Both males gave him an odd look before looking back at each other and blushing a little bit. Vaughn snickered at them and he punched Rhys is the chest lightly to catch his attention.

“I know you wouldn’t have minded hooking up with Timothy if you weren’t with me Rhys…” He teases, whispering as he leans in close to Rhys’ ear and neck so his voice was just low enough for only his boyfriend to hear and this only made Rhys blush harder.

Timothy looked to Rhys in confusion to what he might be blushing harder at but he doesn’t press at it any further, simply smiling at both of them as they flirted. Out of the corner of his eye he could see someone staring at the couple as Rhys giggled nervously and Vaughn gave him a quick kiss teasingly in the crook of his neck. They were being very obvious flirts and Timothy found it adorable personally but the man staring at them from across the hall obviously thought different and pulled a face suddenly poking his friend sitting next to him and hooking his thumb over his shoulder once the other man was looking.

They started talking in hushed voices and Timothy sat up a little straighter in his chair once both of them looked back over and made faces at the pair. They obviously hadn’t noticed Timothy giving them a death glare because he was sure the look on his face right now could melt through their pin sized brains..

As Rhys hooked both his arms around Vaughn's neck to give him a kiss on the lips the two men watching decided to speak up at the show they obviously didn’t like.

“Hey fags!” One of them shouts.

Rhys and Vaughn made a small jump in their seats at the shout out towards them as it was very loud and the word used wasn’t one heard around Helios much. Timothy could see the frown that appeared on both of their faces but they ignored it as they continued to kiss each other.

“Hey fours eyes and robot arm! We’re talking to you!” The other man of the pair shouted.

Rhys sighed and laid his forehead against Vaughn’s in defeat. 

“You two need to get a god damned room! We don’t want you two gaying up the place!”

Vaughn looked like he was holding back his anger as best he could and flitted his eyes between the men behind Rhys and Rhys himself. He leaned back and sighed ready to shout at the two but Timothy beat him to it. He’d silently been simmering in anger as the two men continued to shout obscenities at Rhys and Vaughn but now he was going to show those two a piece of his mind. He hated men like these, there was nothing wrong with same sex relationships, it’s was the 2800’s not the 2000’s. He didn’t often feel like he did now, anger simmering in the pit of his stomach just ready to burst but he guessed he was protective of friends and those near to him. Nobody deserved such disapproving words and names subjected to them. 

“Hey! Assholes!” He started up, surprising both Rhys and Vaughn with his outbreak as well as the men who were shouting, realizing just who Timothy looked and sounded like and probably about half of the hall residents as well. Timothy was not really one to use too many curse words or much vulgar language but now’s the time he thinks to add a few coins to the swear jar.

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up and mind your own god damned business, yeah?” By now he’s gripping the table incredibly tight and his face is stretched into one of intense anger, he’s bent forward over the table slightly, sending death glares to the two across him and he can just see how scared they are that they think they accidentally didn’t notice Handsome Jack was also at the table. 

He decides to use this to his advantage however and stands up from his seat, pushing his chair back hard enough it flips over onto it’s side on the floor. He stalks over to the men’s table, attempting to keep his posture as Jack like as possible on his little know body language of the man but by now they’re shitting themselves in fear because ‘Handsome Jack’ is coming over to give them shit on being homophobic and they’re most likely going out an airlock now, it doesn’t matter what his posture is he looks like the guy so it might as well be him with that glare he’s giving them. Timothy gets in their faces with his hands flat on the table in front of them.

“You better say sorry to my friends over there or I’m gonna strip you down to the bone, feed your skin to skags and hurl what’s left of you out of an airlock! GOT IT?!”

The men nod their heads furiously and look over to Rhys and Vaughn who by now have turned to watch Timothy lay those two out and they’re pleasantly surprised with how well he’s using his face and voice changes to his advantage.

“W-we’re sorry okay?” The first man says awkwardly, glancing between Timothy, inches from his face, and Rhys and Vaughn across the room.

“Y-yeah we’re sorry man! I-I don’t want to get killed man- I like my job!” The second man is quick to respond after his friend and then they look to Timothy to see if they’re okay to leave now because they definitely need to go pee now encase they empty their bowels into these cheap plastic seats suddenly.

Both men stare at Timothy as he decides if they should leave or not.

“I should just throw you pigs out of an airlock anyway…” He retorts, his voice lowering to deep octaves he’s only heard from Jack when the man is REALLY pissed. Which isn’t a lot now that he thinks about it since he hasn’t been around the man long enough to hear him but that doesn’t matter now; he’s just as angry as he sounds and it’s working to his advantage for once.

The men plead with him, hoping to save themselves from a fate unbeknownst to them to probably be less possible than they’d think. Just because Tim had Jack’s face didn’t mean he had his privileges, well at least not yet of course and so because of this Timothy sighed but it came out more of a pissed off tut and he pushed himself up from the table, giving the men a side long glance before growling under his breath.  
“Get out of my sight. If I ever see you two again or if I ever see you being disrespectful to others again, you are DEAD. You hear me?”

The two men nodded up at Timothy in fear. Timothy pointed to the hall’s entrance with his arm and voice raised shouting:

“GET OUT!”

The men quickly scrambled for their bags and any left over food they could salvage in time and booked it for the hall entrance, not daring to look back encase ‘Jack’ decided to change his mind and have them killed then and there on the spot.

When Timothy found himself feeling calmer he slowly walked back over to Rhys and Vaughn who, when he pulled his chair buck up off the floor and sat down, could only stare at him in shock. Rhys’ mouth hung open a little bit and Vaughn had opted to dig his hands into Rhys’ shirt tightly. Timothy’s hair hung out of place over his left eye after having been shouting and swinging his arms about but he couldn’t find himself to care or swipe it back into place because watching it swing in place helped him calm down and realize he wasn’t the man he’d impersonated...not yet.

When he’s calmed down completely he let his head thunk down onto the table, it hurt but he didn’t care. He let out a groan and brought his hands up under his head to rest his forehead on the table.

He was about to lift his head up and ask Rhys and Vaughn if they were okay until his stomach lurched and his gag reflex kicked in. His hands shot up to his mouth to stop himself from spewing all over his friends and he pushed his chair out away from the table as fast as he could with his feet. 

Vaughn and Rhys both shot him looks of concern and Rhys made forward to reach out to him but Timothy was already running out out the hall in search of a toilet because there was no way he was going to puke in front of other people and employers as Handsome Jack because that was completely unprofessional and people would just stare in confusion considering the show he had just made in there.

Booking it around the corner Timothy held one hand to his mouth and quickly pulled up a map on the watch attached to his left wrist, it showed him the closest restroom and once he reached it he ripped the door open, slinking into the closest stall he proceeded to let the contents of his stomach empty into the toilet. It wasn’t much since all he’d eaten in a few days was that one piece of sandwich Vaughn had just given him. It seemed his stomach decided it didn’t want to eat anything still for a while.

For the next few seconds he’s just dry heaving because there’s literally nothing in his stomach to disperse and the feeling is terrible and he know’s he hasn’t puked in a while so the acidic taste that’s left in his mouth only makes him gag more. 

It’s terrible once he feels like he can’t breath anymore so he attempts trying to stop his esophagus from basically choking him from the inside out. He panics for a second once all breath is gone from his lungs but finally he’s stopped retching and air flows back down his throat and into his lungs to let him start breathing again.

Reaching out for the toilet roll dispenser takes him a few tries to find where the paper is hanging as he can’t even think about moving his face from the bowl encase his body decides to try spewing up again so when he finally does grab the tissue and rips some off to wipe around and in his mouth he lets out a sigh that sounds more like a weep and it might as well have been because there’s tears rolling down his face he realizes and he bets he looks just utterly disgusting.

When Tim tries to speak his throat is ragged raw and all he can get out is a “-uck…” not what he had wanted to say but it’s a start considering.

This isn’t at all how he’d expected his first day on the job to go.

He tries coughing, but it hurts so he does it weakly and spits what phlegm he has in his mouth into the toilet below, willing more spit to form at the back of his throat so he can clean out his mouth. Throwing the dirty tissue he’s holding into the toilet Timothy hardly hears when the restrooms door is opening before his cubicle door is also opening up behind him and someone’s standing over his crouched and pained back. His body stiffens when a foot comes into view from where his face leans against his forearm on the toilet which he’s gripping onto like a life line. Then there’s a hand resting lightly on his back that begins to rub up and down in a calming motion.

“You okay Timothy?”

It’s Rhys’ voice. Timothy lets out the breath he’d held in but it comes out as a choke and a cough and Timothy feels Rhys kneel down next to him, pulling some paper from the dispenser next to them and moving Timothy upwards slowly into a position on his heels that instantly feels better on Timothy’s chest. There are dried tears on his cheeks and a bit of spit on his chin but he doesn’t care because all he wants to know is why his body is refusing his food all of a sudden and causing him to make a fool of himself in front of his new friends.

He feels a tissue wipe at his mouth and it makes him jump because Rhys is suddenly in his view and cleaning him up. He makes to push the man away but Rhys shakes his head.

“No, let me help.” He pushes, continuing to wipe at Tim’s face.

Timothy makes an annoyed grimace but lets himself be coddled. The sound of the restroom door can be heard opening again as another person enters the space. Timothy hopes it isn’t some random employee coming in to piss who somehow overheard them whispering in their stall because that could be weird. He’s kind of glad it’s just Vaughn though when he starts talking. Great! Now both of them could coddle him, terrific.

“Rhys, Bro, you find him?” Vaughn asks.

Rhys smiles down at Tim reassuringly and turns to reach behind him to push open the stall door to show where they are. Vaughn notices the swinging door and slowly walks over to hold it open to peek in to see what’s going on.

“Oh...uh hi, glad you found him...what happened?” 

Vaughn holds the door open as Rhys helps Timothy stand up in the cramped space they’re in, he makes to help him steady himself once they’re standing but Timothy pushes him away, wiping at his mouth subconsciously even though it’s now dry and clean.

“I-I’m-m... fi-ne…” He manages to get out, his voice cracked and throat still rough and damaged from the acid’s that are supposed to stay in his stomach.

Rhys gives him a sympathetic look but backs out of the cubicle to go stand next to Vaughn who now has moved back a bit to give Timothy some room just as Rhys decides to do. They both watch Timothy as he turns around to flush the toilet with a grimace at what had been down there, having been in his stomach before it decided to have a bitch fit and bail on him. He turned and left his stall to go wash his hand and face in the sink.

Vaughn by now is searching through the bags he has in his hands, obviously having been the one left to pick up everyone's leftovers since Rhys had found Timothy first. He pulls out a full bottle of water and waits until Timothy has washed his face and hands to give it to him. 

“You feeling alright man? You just booked it after shouting at those two employees, did something in Rhys’ sandwich mess up your insides?”

Timothy takes the bottle offered to him and watches himself remove the lid and wash his mouth out in the mirror, he doesn’t think he’s ever going to get used to seeing Handsome Jack stare back at him in the mirror every time he wants to look at himself. Spitting out the water in his mouth, he then rinses it away and drains the bottle of the rest of its contents to relieve his throat and hopefully make speech more free flowing.

His hair is still out of place instead of being stuck up on his head but he likes seeing it sway freely so he leaves it be, only slightly pushing it to the side out of his immediate eyesight of course. 

“Thanks…” Timothy mumbles finding his voice has returned and isn’t as scratchy as before. He rubs at his throat anyway as if it would dislodge it. “I haven’t really been eating these past few days, uhhh, hospital foods kinda put me off for the time being…Also quite a few surgery's happened so...yeah” He rubs at his neck but smiles anyway, feeling a little better now that his stomach is empty once again.

Rhys and Vaughn both nod understandingly, Rhys especially knows how bad hospital food can be.

“I can relate,” He adds, gesturing to his cybernetic arm, eye and port. “I’m NEVER getting another cybernetic implant as long as I live, nor am I going to eat from those hospitals again. Eugh. I can remember asking Vaughn to smuggle in food from home at risk being attacked by security last time I was in their rooms; the food was so bad.” Rhys laughs at the memory trying to lighten the mood and it gets a small smile out of Timothy.

All three men look back awkwardly once a fourth man enters the restroom and has to slowly maneuver himself between Rhys and Vaughn standing around Tim like protective parents to actually be able to get to the urinals.

“I think we should go now…” Vaughn suggests lowly, taking the now empty bottle of water from Timothy and placing it with the rest of the trash in his hands. “I don’t know how much you guys like just standing around in the men’s room but I’m gonna leave now before it gets even more awkward.”

Timothy manages to smile again and at Vaughn’s suggestion despite his currently state, nods at the idea. He’s not too fond of staying in the restroom any longer if he’s honest and leads the way out to stand outside and wait with a sigh. It still hurts to make noises or sounds with his vocal cords and throat but the pains slowly starting to lessen over time.

Rhys and Vaughn exit a second later and Vaughn’s making his way straight over to a trash can on the other side of the hall to dispose of their combined rubbish before anyone speaks. Now that Timothy isn’t running to the toilet like his life depends on the porcelain lid to save his poor stomach from suicide, he takes a look around at the area they’re in. Just across from him and Rhys to the right is an open seating area with a few glass covered walls on the other side of the seats that allow employees to look out over the expanse of space with it’s billions of planets and stars. Artificial lights flood the area, faking a sense of immersion that the stars are shining down on the station and their light is what’s brightening the area.

Miniature bushes shaped like vault keys adorn the walls on both sides of the hall Timothy stands in currently and make the area feel more lively and less ‘dead space station blacks and blues’ aesthetic that to be honest covers most of Helios already. When Timothy had first been dropped off on Helios he couldn’t help but find both it’s inside and outsides beautiful and the sleek metals and cool exterior endearing and exciting. Now that he had gotten accustomed to it however and knew his fate at Hyperion nothing was too exciting anymore, all the walls he’d seen now blurred into one as all were basically the same grey if you didn’t know where you were going; which was exactly what Timothy had experienced from day one of setting foot here.

Without warning he makes a start over to one of the benches situated in front of the windows with Rhys in tow. He sits down, letting his shoulders slump and pushing his legs forward and off the ground to stretch them out; his ideal comfortable pose when he feels safe and like he can let his guard down. He hasn’t been able to sit like this for a while since all the doctors and people prodding and making sure his body and face are perfect weren’t exactly letting him have his own space or free time to himself.

Rhys copies but decides to kick a leg up over the other and once Vaughn discovers where they’ve disappeared to he joins Rhys on his other side, finding Rhys’ cybernetic arm draped around his shoulders once more. The arm may be made from metal and be quite cool to the touch but Vaughn’s gotten used to it and has learned to love it being draped around him, it’s unique and has found Rhys only lets him get close to the thing.  
The three of them sit in comfortable silence for a while and this time allows Timothy’s throat to heal and time for them all to just stare out at the expanse of space just in front of them. How it seems to just go on forever and every time you take your eye off of one star it seems to blink and be replaced with another. Looking down at his watch, Tim discovers and hour has already passed since he was let free to roam and a few messages have popped up on the screen in echo recorder fashion.

Blinking in confusion, he opens them only to find the messages from Jack having requested he bring his butt up to his office in the next 5 minutes...which had been about 10 minutes or so ago probably having been sent to him when he was dying in the bathroom...great. Taking a quick peek up at the two men next to him he discovers Rhys has now very comfortably curled himself around Vaughn and has probably fallen asleep whilst the man being slept on in question looks up to give Timothy a small smile raising an eyebrow in a question.

“I need to go now.” Timothy whispers slowly, not wanting to strain his voice if he can help it or possibly wake up Rhys from his comfortable position curled around the shorter man. He can see Vaughn nod at him from behind Rhys’ sleeping form and he moves to get up until Vaughn’s hand on his arm stops him for a second.

“It was nice to meet you, man,” He whispers, taking his hand back from having stopped the taller man and also keeping his voice low in case his boyfriend wakes up. “Here, I can give you mine and Rhys’ numbers, so we can meet up again and uh...not have to fight off bullies and stomach bugs, yeah?” pulling out a card from his inside pocket he hands it up to Timothy. “Try not to get killed before the next time we get to talk yeah?”

Taking the card Timothy exams the numbers and codes on it before slipping it into his jacket pocket with a nod down at his new friend with a smile. 

“I’ll try not to, thanks. Yeah, you never know what’s gonna happen though, working under Jack. I just hope he doesn’t blow my head off for being late, heh.” Timothy scratches at his neck awkwardly but then with his other hand extends it out to Vaughn for a good bye shake. “Alright then, until next time!”

Vaughn takes his hand in his and gives it a good shake before the same hand is then lowered to rest on Rhys’ leg because the man has pretty much fallen asleep on him now and it’s pretty typical of Rhys now to fall asleep in quiet peaceful areas such as these now, thinks Vaughn. 

Once the shake is over Timothy turns away from the couple and makes his way out of the seating area. Pulling up his watch again, he pulls up the location of Jack’s office on his map and sighs. With one last look at his new friends sitting on the bench he smiles and is glad he decided to wander over to this specific area of the station today. He hopes to meet up with both Vaughn and Rhys another time, hopefully somewhere less deadly and not likely to throw insults and cause puking but for now he has to focus on finding Jack’s office and not being murdered by said man in said office. What fun.

**Author's Note:**

> (Stayed up till 7am spellchecking this thing coz I hate spelling mistakes ahhhhhh)


End file.
